Can You Hear Me Scream
by pampongchamp
Summary: COMPLETED Mary returns home and restores her belief in love with the help of an old friend
1. him and her

Hello my loyal readers! I am back! There was no way I could go that long without posting. When I go to my mailbox and there are no reviews, I get depressed and must go write more. What can I say? I'm a review whore.  
  
So this next story that you are about to read takes place a little bit before (like a month or two after Mary tell everyone she is pregnant) the season 8 episodes that are airing now. Everything is exactly the way it is now, including Martin *gag*(did anyone see the article about him in TV Guide? anyways,) I'm not entirely sure if he was on the show at that time, but in my story he is so there. There are a few small exceptions that will be explained later. I apologize if the 1st few chapters sound a little prodigal-ish. . . it won't stay that way long.  
  
And yes . . . . There is a Carlos.  
  
(No! Ouch! Stop throwing things! Ow!)  
  
Oh yeah, I don't own 7th heaven *********************************************  
  
Mary heaved her suitcase down onto the bed. She slowly unzipped it and began taking out her clothes. She did all of this very slowly hoping that if she took her time maybe she would wake up and it would all be a dream, or he would come through the door and take her home.  
  
Someone did come to the door however, and she knocked quietly.  
  
"Mary?" Ruthie almost whispered, "Can I help you unpack?"  
  
Mary politely shook her head and smiled, "no thanks, I think I've got it covered."  
  
Ruthie started to leave, but then she came back into the room and shut the door. "So," she began, "are you going to be ok?"  
  
Mary sighed; it had been a long day already. Her family asking so many questions that she didn't feel like answering. She didn't want to admit to herself that anything was wrong, much less admit it to anyone else.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Earlier that afternoon~*~*~*  
  
The black rental was car parked a few houses away, and Mary slowly, subtly made her way to the garage apartment. When she opened the door Lucy was waiting for her.  
  
"Oh thank God you made it ok" she said hugging her tightly. Mary had missed her sister, and needed her now more than she ever had. She hugged Lucy close. Tears ran down her cheek and landed on Lucy's pink pullover.  
  
"Come on," Lucy said taking Mary's hand. "Let's get you inside before anyone sees you"  
  
As Lucy dragged Mary up the stairs she asked her, "Who all knows I'm here?"  
  
"Umm..." Lucy started, "well, I was outside on the phone with you, and peter came by and heard some of the conversation, and my guess is he told Ruthie . . . so probably just . . . everyone."  
  
"Do they know why I'm here?" she asked wiping her eyes.  
  
"Nope," Lucy told her, "I'm the only one"  
  
"Good" Mary said at she sat uneasy in a chair. She had absolutely no desire to share with her family why she was in town. But by letting Lucy know, she had one less person to inform, and one person on her side.  
  
"Well," Lucy said uncomfortably, "I'll go get your stuff out of the car ok?" she had no idea how she was supposed to act around Mary; she didn't want to ignore her, or smother her. She wasn't even entirely sure what to even say, but she was ready to talk whenever Mary was.  
  
As Lucy made her way down the stairs she ran straight into her mom. Lucy bit her lip, knowing what was about to come next.  
  
"Where's Mary?" Annie asked, "I heard Mary was here!"  
  
"Mom. . ." Lucy began "Mary really doesn't. . .", but Annie wouldn't hear it, she pushed right past Lucy and up into the apartment.  
  
Lucy sighed, fearful of what Mary was going to do to her later.  
  
Annie stepped slowly into the garage apartment to find Mary leaning back against a table with her eyes closed. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands with a big sigh.  
  
"Mary?" Annie said, causing her to jump in the chair.  
  
"Oh," Mary said clutching the chair arms, "mom, you scared me"  
  
She reluctantly got up and hugged her mother. "hi honey" Annie said warmly, "so what brings you home?" Mary didn't say anything, just stared at the floor. She couldn't come up with an answer that wouldn't involve a thousand questions.  
  
Annie just looked around the apartment, "is Carlos here with you?"  
  
"Uh, no" Mary said shaking her head and trying her best to smile, "he stayed home this trip."  
  
"Oh alright," Annie said knowing something was obviously wrong. She turned to see Lucy coming up the stairs with Mary's suitcase. She grabbed it out of her hands and started back down the stairs, "come on, and let's get you all unpacked"  
  
Mary looked as Lucy as if to say, "save me"  
  
Lucy just shrugged and mouthed, "I'm sorry"  
  
Mary had to endure plenty of unpleasant reunions, plus she got to meet Martin. It's not that she didn't love her family; she just didn't love all of their questions.  
  
Why are you here? How long are you staying? Where is Carlos? Are you guys fighting? Why are you here? When is your baby due? Is it a boy or a girl? Why are you here?  
  
When Eric bumped into Mary in the hall he opened his mouth to say "sorry" but before the words came out she snapped.  
  
"That's it! No more questions! Family meeting in five minutes."  
  
"You can't call a family meeting" Eric protested  
  
"Well, then you do it!" she cried, stomping down the stairs.  
  
A few minutes later all of the Camden's had been assembled in the living room. Mary stood up in front of them, "ok, I do not; I repeat, do not want to talk about how I feel. I am just telling you all enough to stop your questions.  
  
Mary took a deep breath, "ok here goes nothing. . ."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"um, you know Ruthie," she started, "although I really hate talking about this, I think I am"  
  
Ruthie smiled at her, "well I'm going out with peter now, so I'll see you later?"  
  
"Yep," Mary said, "but thanks for checking on me"  
  
Ruthie hugged her sister and left the room shutting the door quietly behind her. Mary sighed heavily and laid down on the bed. A single tear ran down her face, next time she wasn't going to come home.  
  
She silently prayed that there would never be a next time.  
  
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Short, I know . . . and you are most likely extremely confused, but I promise it will all come together soon enough!  
  
I am a review whore! 


	2. life is turned

After everything was unpacked, Mary walked aimlessly around the small bedroom thinking about the days when it was just she and Lucy there. Back before Ruthie, Matt, Robbie or anyone else occupied it. Back then everything was so much easier. Of course then it didn't seem easy, Mary wanted to laugh at the things she and Lucy had worried about. They seemed so trivial compared to this.  
  
Mary noticed something in the room didn't smell pleasant. She walked around sniffing her clothes, and under the bed. She chuckled when she realized that she was the disgusting smell. She couldn't remember the last time she had a shower, with all that was going on, it was the last thing on her mind.  
  
She walked out into the hallway and her mother was leaving the twins room, she held a finger to her lips and tiptoed out as she shut the door. "Hey Mary" she said softly.  
  
Mary started to walk past her in order to avoid all conversation if possible, "I'm just gunna go take a shower"  
  
"Oh, the why don't you use my bathtub, you know, light some candles, relax a little" Annie said trying to put Mary at ease.  
  
"Yeah, ok thanks" Mary said avoiding her mother's eyes and heading straight for the bathroom.  
  
After the tub was full and the candles were lit, Mary switched off the lights and slid into the warm tub. She melted into the water; she put her ears under the water and listened to the silence.  
  
But the silence was a little too quiet; it made her think, and Mary didn't want to think about anything. She reached over the tub to the outdated boom box sitting against the wall. She flipped the radio on to hear a smooth voice sing; "Let's stay together, Times are good or bad, happy or sad"  
  
She immediately flipped it off and decided that silence was best. She looked out the window to discover that it was raining. The small drops slowly rolling down the pane seemed to hypnotize her, and just for a minute take her away from her thoughts.  
  
A sudden flash of lightning brought her out of her trance. And her mind went straight back to her worries and stresses. Mary took a deep breath and slipped under the water. She was under there for quite awhile, when she didn't move at all, and the water was smooth, she could almost see her reflection in it.  
  
Mary slowly rose back to the surface; she raised a hand out of the tub to check her watch. She had only been in there 10 minutes, but she examined her fingers, which were starting to wrinkle. There was steam coming off of her hand, she lifted the other one to further investigate this occurrence. As she waved her hands around a shiny object caught her eye.  
  
Mary quickly sat up and started tugging at the gold band. When it finally came off of her finger she examined it. A representation of an eternal circle of love. She set it on the edge of the tub.  
  
Love, yeah right.  
  
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Wow, that was wicked short  
  
Ok, ok I know that the parent's bathtub was in prodigal (at least, I think it was) I didn't realize I was being so prodigal-y. I warned you. But can you blame me? It's a great episode! Especially the part where Wilson is checking his messages and he emerges in less and less clothing each time. *sigh* ok enough daydreaming.  
  
Review Please! If you do, I might move up when I decide to reveal what is going on! 


	3. the day i knew you would leave

Ok, I must apologize for the confusion, I thought that Mary was married at the beginning of this season, (which is 8 right?) so ignore my season crap, her and Carlos are married, he got her pregnant, the end.  
  
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The next few days were very hard on Mary and everyone else. They were all being extra careful around her, and they were super nice. This upset Mary, she didn't need to be taken care of, at least she thought so. All of the attention was driving Mary insane. So much so that she wished she had kept it a secret and let them question her.  
  
One afternoon she came into the kitchen after spending the day helping Lucy frame pictures. It was good for her to keep busy, but she found unbearably depressing to look at pictures of Lucy's perfect, happy life.  
  
Lucy kept subtly trying to get Mary to talk, but it never worked. She wanted to help her sister out; she always had been able to in the past. But this time it was something that she couldn't fix.  
  
Mary was sitting at the kitchen table sipping a glass of orange juice as she stared out the window. She was way past her sad stage, now she was bitter, angry and bitter.  
  
Martin walked in the backdoor with his backpack and a stack of mail. Annie came into the kitchen just as he entered.  
  
"Mail's here" he said holding up the stack.  
  
"Anything good?" Annie asked approaching him.  
  
Martin thumbed through the mail, "bill, bill, you may have already won a million dollars . . ." a large yellow envelope was at the back of the stack, it was addressed to Mary. Martin came up to her slowly holding it out, "uh, this is for you"  
  
"Thanks" Mary said taking it from him and setting it in front of her. Annie bit her lip and gently shooed martin out of the kitchen. Mary was dreading having to open that envelope, but she had to.  
  
She twisted the brad that held it sealed and removed the stack of papers. She quickly scanned over the pages, Annie watching her every move. She got up and got a pen out of a drawer, and then she sat back down.  
  
Annie slowly came up behind Mary, "are those . . .?" she asked, not needing to finish her question.  
  
"Yes," Mary responded, staring at the line at the bottom of the page with the big red X at the front. She picked up the pen and twirled it in her hand as she read over the page, and flipped through the others following it.  
  
She looked back to find Annie standing over her shoulder peering down at the page. Mary looked back at her, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh, sorry" Annie said scurrying over to the sink, she turned on the water and pretended to wash dishes while she watched Mary.  
  
Mary sighed and ran her fingers through her hair; she gripped the pen in her hand and signed her signature on the line. The she did the same on the next three pages.  
  
Annie was leaning over the sink, looking anxious. Mary got up and walked to Eric's office to use the fax machine. Annie followed her.  
  
Mary was standing next to the machine punching numbers in while she fed a paper through it.  
  
"Mary," Annie said knocking on the doorframe. "Are you ok?"  
  
"Yep" Mary said focusing intently on the fax machine.  
  
"Do you wanna talk about it?"  
  
"Nope" Mary said pushing past her and heading for the front door. She grabbed her purse and opened the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Annie said following her.  
  
"Out" Mary replied without turning around.  
  
"Why?" Annie asked, Mary almost lost it.  
  
"Because I'm sick of your questions," she said as she got in the car and sped away.  
  
~*~*~*~*  
  
Mary walked slowly into the pool hall. There were plenty of people making plenty of noise, and none of them were going to ask her how she was feeling.  
  
She looked around at the crowd of teenagers on dates, gazing into each other's eyes dreamily. She wanted desperately to shake them all and tell them to give up. Love wasn't worth all of that.  
  
She sat down at the bar and ordered a soda. While she waited she beat her hands on the counter along with the music. It felt good to be out of her house, great in fact.  
  
Mary felt a tap on her shoulder; she turned to see a familiar face.  
  
"Hey stranger"  
  
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Wow, I'm really just dragging this out aren't I? I only do it to be unreasonable and cruel.  
  
Not really, I just thought id spread it out, so that I can post something everyday, and you will all be happy.  
  
If you review an awful lot, I might just hold to that chapter a day thing 


	4. i can barely breathe

Ok I'm back; terribly sorry to leave you with that awful cliffhanger I know I'm the worst.  
  
I also want to make an extra apology to all of the readers I have upset with my cliffhangers. I thought the dramatic effect would be nice, but apparently it's not. So I will stop, almost, sorry :^(  
  
I don't own 7th heaven, blahdy blah  
  
**********************  
  
"Ohmigosh!" Mary exclaimed throwing her arms around her old friend.  
  
"What are you doing in town?" he asked her.  
  
Mary sighed, "long story" she smiled, and it was so good to see Wilson. She hadn't talked to him in almost two years.  
  
"I'd love to hear it if you've got time" he said motioning towards a table.  
  
"I've got all night" Mary beamed. This was probably the first time she had smiled in weeks.  
  
Mary spent the next forty-five minutes hearing all about what Wilson was up to. About Billy's school, his job, how he saw Lucy at the super market a few weeks before. She just smiled and sipped her soda, happy to be having a real conversation with someone.  
  
"Whoa," Wilson told her, "sorry I'm rambling. What about you? Are you seeing anyone? Married maybe?" he winked jokingly.  
  
"Um," Mary began, staring down into her drink, she hated to answer him, and she hadn't even said the words out loud yet. But she somehow stirred up the courage to spit out, "divorced actually," she looked at her watch, "as of an hour ago"  
  
Wilson looked shocked, "Wow, so when did you get married? What happened?" he suddenly drew back, "I – I mean if you want to tell me, you probably don't want to talk about this"  
  
"No, no its ok" Mary said, "to tell you the truth I feel more comfortable talking to you anyway."  
  
Wilson smiled, "Ok so tell me,"  
  
Mary took a deep breath, "So last summer I got married to this guy, Carlos. We said we were in love, and so we eloped."  
  
Wilson chuckled inwardly at this, it was so like Mary. They had been through the exact same thing only; they didn't actually go through with the wedding.  
  
"And a few days after I felt really stupid and I wanted my dad to get it annulled for me. And then I decided to stay married, just to spite my parents. I just had to be rebellious." She rolled her eyes, "and I then I got pregnant."  
  
Wilson's eyes got bigger and bigger with every sentence Mary said. Wilson smiled, "Congratulations, when's it coming?"  
  
"Well," Mary said, her voice losing its light-heartedness, "I lost the baby, and I didn't tell my family, because I didn't want all of their fake sympathy. I just wanted to take care of myself." Mary's eyes were starting to well up with tears, it was obvious that she wasn't as ok as she had been pretending to be, "It turns out that the baby was the only thing keeping Carlos with me"  
  
Wilson was leaning forward, waiting for the rest of the story. He was scared for her, "Mare, I'm so sorry"  
  
She shook off his concern and went on with her story, "He started sleeping around," Mary said wiping her eyes, "it was so obvious, everyone knew. I tried to ignore it. I told myself that it was a phase, and that he would love me again, if he even had in the first place." She sniffled, "and then the other day I decided it wasn't worth it anymore so I packed up and left. I just went crawling back home like a baby."  
  
Wilson reached across the table and squeezed Mary's hand, "You're not a baby, I don't blame you for coming home, and I probably would too."  
  
Mary realized what a blubbering mess she was, "I really should get out of here." She said smiling and wiping her eyes. "It was nice seeing you Wilson"  
  
He got up to follow her out, "My cell number is still the same, and you can call me if you ever need to talk."  
  
She turned around and gave Wilson a huge hug, "Thank you Wilson, you're the best"  
  
"Yeah he is isn't he?" they heard a voice from behind them.  
  
They turned to find a girl with short blonde hair and a big smile standing right behind them.  
  
Wilson smiled, "Mary, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, McKenna."  
  
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Haha, like you really thought I'd get them back together that easily? Are you crazy?!?!  
  
Sorry for you cliffhanger-haters, I wouldn't really consider that a cliffhanger, if this were actually a 7th heaven episode this is where we would cut to the story about Lucy being crazy over something stupid . . .so really it works out fine.  
  
But if you still hate me I'll stop, from now on everything will be solved by the end of the chapter, (not sure how I'll do that though . . .hmm)  
  
Reviews make me type faster 


	5. can you hear me scream

I am so super inspired now, prodigal was on today, and absolutely nothing is more inspiring than Andrew in his underwear. I love that boy, I bought "O" yesterday, he's so mean in that movie, and it's weird to see sweet Wilson say the F word so many times. Just proves that Andrew is a great actor *sigh*  
  
Oh, yeah sorry, I was writing a story here wasn't I . . . .  
  
***************************************************  
  
Mary shook McKenna's hand, "Nice to meet you" she said with a smile.  
  
"So you're Mary!" she exclaimed, "Wilson has told me a lot about you, its great to put a face to the stories!" she smiled wide, she was so cute it was almost sickening.  
  
"I'm going to walk Mary out, I'll be right back," he said kissing McKenna's cheek.  
  
Mary and Wilson left the pool hall and headed for her car, "so, she seems sweet," she told him, "How long have you guys been together?"  
  
"8 months," he told her smiling, "I love her to death,"  
  
The word 'love' made Mary shudder. It wasn't that Wilson was 'in love' it was the whole Idea of love itself. Mary knew there was no such thing as love, it was just something people made up as an excuse for all of the stupid things they did.  
  
********  
  
When Mary got home Lucy was sitting in the kitchen with some cookies and milk. "Hey" she said when Mary walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Hi," Mary said hopping up on the across from Lucy, she looked around, "so where is everyone?"  
  
"Well," Lucy said dipping her cookie into the glass of milk, "Kevin is out on a call, Friday nights can get a bit crazy sometimes. And the twins are sleeping, mom and dad went to a charity function of some sort, Martin is out with Cecilia, Ruthie is at a sleepover, and I'm here" she shrugged.  
  
"Is there anything left from dinner?" Mary said getting off the counter and heading for the fridge.  
  
"Mom made mac and cheese before she left, there might be some left" Lucy watched Mary dig through the refrigerator, "so where did you go anyway? Mom was flipping out thinking that you left for good 'cuz you were mad." "Well I am thinking about getting an apartment as soon as Carlos gives me my stuff back, then I can go do drugs without mom worrying." Lucy looked at her shocked, "I was at the pool hall!" Mary laughed, she walked over and squeezed Lucy's shoulders, "it's called a joke"  
  
"Sorry, I know" Lucy said laughing at herself for believing Mary would be that stupid after everything that had happened, that wasn't how Mary solved problems, "so did you have a good time?" Lucy asked her.  
  
"Yeah, it was noisy, I liked that. Oh and I saw Wilson" Mary started heading for the stairs.  
  
"Whoa whoa wait!" Lucy called; "come back here!" she was not going to let her out of this easily.  
  
Mary stopped and turned to face her sister, and then she slowly came back down the stairs and into the kitchen.  
  
"So?" Lucy said patting the chair next to her, hoping Mary would take it and they could have a good old fashioned girl talk.  
  
"So we talked for awhile, and then I met his girlfriend, and that's it" Mary said nonchalantly. Then she got up to go back upstairs.  
  
Lucy grabbed her arm, "and you're ok with that?"  
  
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Mary said confused.  
  
"Because you were in love with him at one point in your life." Lucy explained as if this were something Mary should already know, "or maybe more than one"  
  
"That was a long time ago" Mary said with hurt in her voice, "I don't want to talk about love ok? I don't believe in love."  
  
Lucy stood up and approached Mary, "just because you've had a few bad experiences doesn't mean you should give up on it entirely." Lucy desperately wanted Mary to have the life that she did, "you know after Jeremy I thought I would be alone forever, and then Kevin came along, and it's so amazing Mare" she smiled desperately trying to convince her sister that someday it will all work out.  
  
"Yeah," Mary said angrily, "good for you" and then she stomped up the stairs.  
  
Lucy sat back down with tears in her eyes. It was so hard for her to understand what Mary was going through. She really wanted to help Mary out, be a good sister. But she couldn't even fathom how she would feel if Kevin did that to her. She was jealous of Roxanne for such a long time, but those were just suspicions, Mary had proof.  
  
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Well, I'm not at home right now so I don't know if y'all liked the last chapter, and that worries me, so I'm just gonna hope for the best here.  
  
Keep reviewing! Maybe Mary will love again if you do! 


	6. thrown in all directions

Ahhh new chappie time, so wonderful. I saw "breaking up is hard to do" today, I watched most of season 2 at the gym this summer, but I somehow missed this episode. I cried, and usually only Dawson's Creek and most chick flicks make me cry. (Ok, like everything makes me cry) I hate Mary and Wilson being apart, it just kills me inside.  
  
And that makes this hard to write . . .  
  
************************************  
  
"Yeah that's good, right there in the corner" Mary directed as Wilson and Kevin carried the couch across the room.  
  
After a long phone battle with Carlos, Mary had finally gotten her things back. Mary and Lucy flew to New York, loaded all of Mary's things and her car into a U-Haul and drove back to GlenOak. She had found a small apartment not too far from her parent's house, it wasn't much, but it was hers, and it definitely wasn't her parents' house. And that's all that mattered. Today Wilson and Kevin were moving things; Lucy and Mary were basically bossing.  
  
A few hours later, when everything was moved in and the Kinkurk's had headed home, Mary and Wilson sat amongst the boxes and ate Chinese takeout right out of the cartons.  
  
They were laughing and talking about old times. Mary was glad she had run into Wilson that night at the pool hall. It was great to have someone to talk to that wasn't related to her.  
  
Wilson's cell phone rang, and he stepped into the bedroom to answer it. When his conversation had ended he sat back down with Mary, "That was McKenna," he smiled, "she was wondering if she could bring us something to eat, I told her we had it covered. Oh, and Billy said hi"  
  
Mary smiled, "so, how did you guys meet?" she acted as if she sincerely cared; she even trying to convince herself that she did. But she really just had to find out that this girl was not as perfect as she seemed. She waited for something like, "her kid and Billy are friends" or "I bumped into her as she left the detox center"  
  
But what she did get was that she was a teacher at Billy's school, not Billy's teacher though, she taught 5th grade. Wilson had picked her up in the parking lot.  
  
Wilson rambled on and on about her. He kept using phrases like "the one" and "meant to be" all of the love talk made Mary want to gag.  
  
Sure, she was happy for Wilson; it was great that he had finally found someone. He had been alone for so long, and this girl appeared to be perfect for him. She appeared to be perfect in general.  
  
"So you think you guys will get married?" she asked shoveling chow mien into her mouth.  
  
Wilson sighed; "I hope so." He smiled, "You know I bet you guys would really get along. You should go out with us sometime"  
  
Mary wiped her mouth, "no, that's ok I don't want to be the third wheel" she shook her head.  
  
"Then bring someone with you!" Wilson insisted, "hey I could set you up with one of my friends, oh I bet you'd like my friend Chad. He's great, I know him from the gym he's a bodybuilder, oh and he's hilarious. It'll be great."  
  
Mary put on her best fake smile, "great"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mary dragged herself in to her dark apartment, and threw herself onto the couch without even turning on the lights. She had a terrible headache; she staggered to the kitchen for some aspirin. She struggled with the lid, she couldn't figure out which way to turn it, it was too dark. But the lights were painful.  
  
When she had finally gotten her aspirin, Mary started to feel her way out of the kitchen. The phone rang and she jumped, hitting her head on a cabinet. She felt around for the phone, and then answered it while she checked her head for blood.  
  
"Hello" she said aggravated  
  
"Hey, it's Lucy. Just seeing how your date went, but I can already tell it wasn't good"  
  
"It was the worst date I've ever had" Mary groaned, "this guy, Chad was such an ass! Pardon my French, but he was the most self-absorbed person I've ever had the utter displeasure of meeting!"  
  
"I'm sorry" Lucy started, but Mary rambled on  
  
"Wilson said he was funny, but I didn't find anything funny about him. Oh my gosh, and then like right in the middle of dinner he started doing his competition poses. It was so sick, and so wrong. Like I mean who does that on a date? Ugh, and you guys wonder why I don't do this stuff"  
  
Lucy giggled, "You just need to get set up with a good guy. Take my advice and don't let Wilson play matchmaker anymore ok?" Lucy got all excited, "oh you know what there's some guys from school that I think you'd really like and-"  
  
Mary laid down on the couch with a wet towel on her head and listened to her sister scheme.  
  
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I apologize for yet another short chapter. A rainy spring break is no fun so I've been re-reading my stories today. I seriously think I'm losing my touch! Aren't you supposed to improve? I'm getting worse! Oh this is too sad . . .  
  
Reviews might cure my bad-writer syndrome 


	7. epitome of perfection

A/N: thank you thank you thank you for all the great reviews! You guys really keep me going; I think I found out why I hate this story. It's because I was so determined to make it super super long, but you know what, now I'm thinking however long it ends up being is fine. So now that I know my problem I hope I like the rest better  
  
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"Goodnight Ted," Mary said getting out of the musty truck.  
  
"Call me baby!" he said as he sped out of the parking lot.  
  
This was the fourth date Lucy had sent Mary on. She honestly didn't know where Lucy was finding these guys, they were absolutely terrible. One was almost 30 and still living with his mom. Another had 17 cats, and he kept calling his house during the date to leave the cats a message. Mary had decided that she was done letting Lucy "help out" she was perfectly fine with being alone.  
  
She walked up the wet steps to her apartment; it smelled like it had rained. There was something very refreshing about the way pavement smells when its wet. She started digging in her purse for her keys, and then she ran straight into someone.  
  
"Oh my gosh I am so so sorry." She said looking up at her victim.  
  
"Oh no, it's ok." He said brushing himself off, "I'm Tyler, I live in 6B"  
  
He was tall, kind of rugged. He had piercing blue eyes, and a calming voice. Mary had trouble getting her words out, "hi, I'm . . .uh Mary" she shook her head to reassure herself that that was her name, because at this point she wasn't completely sure.  
  
"Listen Mary," he said with a smile, "I'm sure a pretty girl like you has a boyfriend. But I'm new in town and I was wondering if you would-"  
  
Mary cut him off, "I'd love to"  
  
"Uh, great" he said, not expecting a yes, "then I'll be here at 7?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll see you then"  
  
Tyler walked towards his apartment, and when Mary was sure he wasn't looking she skipped to her front door and did a little dance as she opened the door. She could tell this guy might change things for the better.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
At 6:45 Mary sat on her couch all ready to go, waiting impatiently for 7 to roll around. Tyler seemed like a really nice guy, certainly better than all of the guys Lucy had sent her out with.  
  
Finally after Mary had done a lot of pacing, there was a knock at her door. She quickly ran to the bathroom and gave herself a once over. She walked slowly to the door, so she wouldn't look like she had been waiting by the door.  
  
"Hi" he said smiling, "you look nice"  
  
"Thanks" Mary said sweetly, following him down the stairs.  
  
They stopped next to a really nice black BMW. "Wow, great car" Mary said as he opened the door for her.  
  
"Thank you" Tyler said, "my dad gave it to me a few years ago"  
  
The whole drive to the coffee shop the two of them got to know each other better. Tyler had lived in L.A. most of his life, but he recently moved to GlenOak. He told Mary he was a photographer, and he had moved out of the city to get a new approach to his art.  
  
Mary was completely enthralled with him. When he smiled at her she felt like she was melting. They had a lovely dinner that consisted of Tyler telling jokes and Mary laughing hysterically. Some of his jokes weren't really funny, but everything he did made Mary smile.  
  
Tyler was such a gentleman; he opened the door for Mary. And he pulled out her chair at dinner. When they walked out of the restaurant, he took her arm as they walked to the car.  
  
As they drove home Mary felt like she was floating.  
  
There was nothing that could ruin this night . . . .  
  
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Please please don't shoot me! Just wait a few chapters! I promise it will all be ok!  
  
Review only if you promise to be nice! 


	8. she's lost her will

Ok I had some lucky charms and Im ready to finish this sucker!  
  
Thanks for all the reviews, I hope you all don't mind that Im posting so many so quickly . . . oh who am I kidding I know you love it. I just got a really good Idea for a nice melodramatic story, I enjoy them so much. So Im kinda tryin to just spit this one out real quick . . . or at least get to the good part  
  
So here's where I left you  
  
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Nothing could ruin this night...  
  
Tyler looked over at Mary and smiled wide. The little car flew around the curves of the road. Mary heard something in the distance so she quickly switched off the radio.  
  
Sirens.  
  
They looked into the rearview mirrors. And the blue and red lights were approaching them quickly.  
  
Tyler muttered a few curse words and pulled over to the shoulder.  
  
Mary wasn't scared, the only thing he had done wrong was speed maybe. But he wasn't going very fast, so she figured it wouldn't be too bad.  
  
All of the sudden two more police cars came towards them from the front. Tyler turned to Mary, "you wearing running shoes?"  
  
"No, should I be?" Mary asked, now she was frightened. She cowered into the seat.  
  
All of the police cars swarmed around them and cops started jumping out and surrounding them. They all drew their guns.  
  
"Step out of the car with you hands in the air!" the one with the megaphone called.  
  
Mary recognized the amplified voice, Kevin. She quickly lunged at the door handle. Tyler grabbed her wrist, "what do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Um, getting out" Mary said as she broke free of him and sprung out of the car. She started to run towards the group of cops. She heard the guns click, and one of them yell, "freeze!" and Mary did just that. They shined flashlights on her. She just stood there, shaking.  
  
"Mary?" Kevin said, from behind his squad car.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Roxanne asked  
  
Mary didn't move, "I was on a date, I promise I wasn't doing anything."  
  
"You know her Kinkirk?" an officer asked  
  
"She's my sister-in-law "Kevin said, "Im positive she didn't know"  
  
A few of the officers past Mary and went to the car. Kevin walked up to Mary who was still stationary. "You can move now," he said.  
  
Mary relaxed and latched onto Kevin. "Oh my gosh, that was so scary!" she let go of him, "so what was that all about?"  
  
"That car is stolen," Kevin told her, "we've been looking for it for a week."  
  
Mary shivered, it was starting to rain. Kevin gave her his jacket, she smiled. Lucy was really lucky to have found such a great guy. Although she would never admit it, she desperately wanted Lucy's perfect life.  
  
"Kevin" Mary said sweetly, "can you take me home?" she looked at him with puppy-dog eyes.  
  
"Do I have a choice?" Kevin asked with a smile.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
On the way home Kevin noticed Mary crying in the backseat.  
  
"Hey what's wrong?" he said knocking on the cage, "first time in the back of a cop car?"  
  
"No, unfortunately not" Mary laughed, "but that's not it"  
  
"Is it that guy? Were you two like serious?" Kevin asked  
  
"No, it was our first date"  
  
"Then what was the problem?"  
  
"I just thought things were finally getting better"  
  
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review, that is all 


	9. time is standing still

Ok, I know I posted 3 chapters last night, and they were all REALLY short, but this one will be longer, hopefully.  
  
I hope you all still love me!  
  
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The Saturday after the incident with Tyler, Mary was walking along the promenade, enjoying the nice day. She spotted McKenna at a table reading a magazine.  
  
"Hey" she said approaching her  
  
"Mary! Good to see you! Sit down!" McKenna said excitedly.  
  
Mary joined her at the table amongst her many shopping bags. "So I see you did some shopping," Mary laughed. McKenna nodded giggling. "So where's Wilson today?" Mary asked her.  
  
"He took Billy to a birthday party"  
  
Mary decided that since the topic was on Wilson, she would take advantage. "He really loves you ya know?"  
  
McKenna squirmed uneasily, and smiled nervously.  
  
"He's even talking about marriage" she looked up at McKenna who was frozen in her chair. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I- I um . . ." McKenna was suddenly panicky, "Mary, I don't- I mean- Wilson is a great guy, we both know that. But I'm not sure I- um . . .share his feelings."  
  
Mary was almost shocked, "like you don't love him back?"  
  
"I guess you could say that" McKenna told her hanging her head. "And I feel really bad you know?"  
  
"Does Wilson know?"  
  
"No!" she responded quickly, "and he doesn't need to"  
  
"Of course he does! You can't lead him on like this. It's not fair to him or Billy" Mary said, not believing the nerve of this girl.  
  
"I'm not telling him, and you better not either" McKenna said picking up her bags and storming off.  
  
Mary slid down in her chair, trying to think of what she could do.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Mary came up the steps of the garage apartment to find Lucy studying.  
  
"Hey Luce" she said, "I hope you don't mind me stopping by"  
  
"No of course not!" Lucy said jumping up to hug her sister.  
  
"I kind of needed your advice on something-"Mary was interrupted by Kevin's voice  
  
"Hey Luce can you get me a towel-"he said walking out of the bathroom stark naked.  
  
Mary stood motionless, wide-eyed with her hands over her mouth.  
  
Kevin started babbling, "I-um—uh- I'm gonna-yeah"he sprinted back into the bathroom.  
  
Lucy laughed and grabbed Mary's hand, she started dragging her down the stairs, "come on we'll go to the laundry room to get Kevin a towel, and we'll talk"  
  
When they had reached the laundry room, Lucy started emptying the dryer, "I apologize for that little peep show back there." She laughed, "So what did you want to talk about?"  
  
Mary hopped up on the washing machine, "you know Wilson's girlfriend that he's so crazy about? Well I saw her at the promenade and we started talking." Lucy nodded as Mary told her story, "well turns out she doesn't love Wilson, but she won't break up with him"  
  
"What?" Lucy said extremely confused, "if she doesn't love him, and she knows he wants to get married, then what is she doing?"  
  
"I don't know!" Mary said, "she told me not to tell him, but I'm seriously considering it."  
  
"I don't think you should just bust in Mary," Lucy said picking up a laundry basket, "it might make you look jealous. But if she doesn't let him know soon, you might have to make her. But I'm thinking you're little talk with her might have some effect"  
  
"Yeah, I get what your saying" Mary nodded  
  
"So I'm going to go bring Kevin his towel," Lucy said heading out the door, "but you can stick around if you want"  
  
"No thanks," Mary said hopping off of the washing machine, "I'm not too sure I can look him in the eyes yet"  
  
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Yeah ok so naked Kevin has nothing to do with anything, but I thought all of you who love George Stults, wouldn't mind imagining him naked.  
  
Ok so yeah, review pleeese! 


	10. he walks her home

I snuck away from a neighborhood barbeque to write this, and I'll probably get in trouble, but oh well it's worth it right?  
  
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Mary walked into her apartment after a long day of flying to find that the phone was ringing. She sprinted in and caught it on the last ring.  
  
"Hello" she said leaning against the wall  
  
A small voice responded, "Mary?" it asked.  
  
"Yes, who is this?"  
  
"It's Billy" he said, "I need you to come over"  
  
"Why?" Mary asked curiously  
  
"Well it's about my dad . . . "  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Mary knocked on the door of the apartment; she nervously tapped her foot while she waited for it to open.  
  
After what seemed like forever Billy answered the door, "good, you came" he grabbed Mary's hand and led her into the apartment, "he's back here," he said pushing her into the bedroom.  
  
Mary folded her arms and leaned on the doorframe, "oh my gosh Billy it's worse than you said"  
  
Wilson was sitting on his bed in his pajamas staring blankly at the TV in front of him. His hair was greasy and messy, and his face was all scruffy. Mary didn't even know he was capable of growing facial hair. There were food wrappers strewn about the room, clothes and papers all over the floor. Mary had never known Wilson to be a messy guy.  
  
"He hasn't left here in three days" Billy informed her.  
  
Mary sighed and set her purse down on the floor. She stomped towards Wilson's bed, and grabbed his arms, "That's it, get up, the pity party is over."  
  
"Mary stop it, I just wanna stay here" he whined  
  
She rolled her eyes and yanked him out of the bed, "Billy go get him something nice to wear." Billy sprinted towards the closet. Mary pushed Wilson into the bathroom and threw a towel at him. "Get in that shower right now and pull yourself together, we're going out!" she slammed the door.  
  
Billy smiled and ran over to give her a high-five.  
  
A few days before, McKenna had felt guilty and decided to come clean to Wilson. He was completely beside himself, and according to Billy had holed up in his bedroom. Neither Billy nor Mary had ever seen him like that, which is why they came up with a plan to save him from himself.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
After Mary had cleaned up the bedroom, she sat with Billy in the living room. Finally Wilson emerged, looking like his old self.  
  
"That's better" Billy smiled  
  
"Look Mary, I know you're trying to help. But we can't go out, I don't have a babysitter."  
  
"No way was I letting you out of this Wilson West," Mary said persistently, "that is why Lucy is taking Billy, Sam, and David to the movies tonight." She folded her arms and smiled, knowing she had won.  
  
She picked up her purse and grabbed Wilson; "come on let's go" she shoved him out the door with Billy following close behind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Thank you Mary, you really are a lifesaver," Wilson told her as she put sleeping Billy in his bed.  
  
They tiptoed out of the room and quietly closed the door.  
  
"It wasn't a problem, plus I think if I hadn't . . .I don't know what would have become of you." She laughed.  
  
They walked into the kitchen and Mary hopped up on the counter.  
  
"I has a lot of fun," Wilson said, "I just can't believe I was acting so stupid. I mean, yeah I'm still upset that she lied all that time, but it's her loss"  
  
"That's the attitude!" Mary laughed  
  
Wilson stood in front of her and put his hand on her knee, "what would I do without you?"  
  
"I don't know" Mary smiled. But she tensed up when she saw the look in his eyes, she knew it too well.  
  
Wilson leaned in and kissed her gently. She started to kiss him back, but when Mary realized what she was doing she pulled back.  
  
"You know what?" she said getting down and heading for the door, "I have an early flight tomorrow, so I'm going to go"  
  
Wilson was very confused, "but I thought you-"  
  
"Goodnight Wilson" she said closing the door behind her.  
  
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That Mary, she sure is stupid huh?  
  
REVIEW! 


	11. now he walks alone

When Mary came home from work the day after the kissing episode with Wilson, her answering machine light was blinking. She pressed the button then settled on the couch to listen.  
  
"You have four new messages" the robotic voice said  
  
*beep* hey Mary, its Wilson. I'm sorry about last night. I really don't know what I was thinking; I mean we're both on the rebound, and that just wasn't appropriate. So, I guess I'll talk to you later *beep*  
  
Mary smiled, but she quickly wiped it off when she remembered that she was angry with him.  
  
*beep* hi, this is Billy. My dad really likes you, and I think you should call him. Cuz I want you to be my new mommy. Bye! *beep*  
  
Mary wondered if Wilson had put him up to that.  
  
*beep* Mary, this is yourself. I am reminding you to NOT LISTEN TO ANYTHING WILSON SAYS. No matter how sweet it is. Mary Camden you be strong! Oh, and get milk. *beep*  
  
*beep* hi Mary, it's Wilson again. Look, I know I called a little while ago. But I can't stop thinking about you. I'm pretty sure you don't want anything to do with me right now, but I was wondering if you'll go out with me Friday night. We can go just as friends if you want, you know hang out, talk a little. Ok, well call me *beep*  
  
"End of messages" the robot informed her.  
  
Mary sat still on the couch for a few minutes, phone in hand debating whether or not to call him. She sighed and dialed the number.  
  
"Hi Billy," she said with a smile, "is your dad home?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Friday night Mary stood over the sink putting on lip-gloss. It was the first time she had actually primped before going out in a long time. When she heard a knock at the door she fussed with her shirt, making sure she looked absolutely perfect. She was surprised when she found herself smiling as she approached the door.  
  
"Hey!" she said flinging the door open.  
  
Wilson stood in front of her smiling, "you ready to go?"  
  
They walked down to the car, "so you ready to play some pool?"  
  
"Ready Freddy!" Mary said giggly. When Wilson had gone around to the drivers side Mary shook herself. "Ready Freddy?" she mouthed, hitting herself on the head. What was this guy doing to her?  
  
The drive to the pool hall was pretty quiet, until Wilson spoke up, "I'm really sorry about the other night-"  
  
"You know what? Its ok, let's just not talk about it anymore"  
  
"You got it," Wilson said pulling into a parking space.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
As Mary and Wilson walked up the stairs to her apartment, she felt his hand brushing against hers. She smiled to herself and just grabbed his hand and laced her fingers with his.  
  
When they arrived hand in hand at her door, Mary quickly let go of him and opened her door. She started to walk in, but Wilson stopped her.  
  
"Thanks for putting up with me Mary. I mean you didn't have to-"  
  
She turned and put his face in her hands, she reached up on her toes and kissed him. Then she walked back into the apartment.  
  
Wilson looked at her dumbfounded, "does this mean . . . ?"  
  
"Don't read into it too much" she said closing the door.  
  
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Are they finally going to get together? Find out next chapter! Maybe!  
  
These have got to be the shortest chapters in history really 


	12. the days they turn into years

2nd to-last chapter, I'm so ready to get this story over with . . .  
  
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Wilson slowly opened the bedroom door to find Mary and Billy sitting on the floor playing video games. Mary was concentrating really hard with her tongue sticking out, she turned the controller like it was a steering wheel, and he couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"Ok, bedtime you two" he said.  
  
"Awww!" they said in unison.  
  
"Come on dad, 5 minutes! I'm kicking Mary's butt!"  
  
"Oh he is not!" Mary argued, sounding younger than Billy.  
  
"Don't make me have to go unplug that thing," Wilson said sternly, but he was still smiling.  
  
"Fine" Billy sad putting the controller down and jumping into his bed. "Thanks for coming over to play with me Mary, goodnight" he said hugging her tightly, "night dad"  
  
"Goodnight Billy," Wilson said leading Mary out of the room and switching off the light.  
  
Mary flung herself on the couch, "you know those video games are exhausting"  
  
Wilson joined her, "you're not too tired for . . ." he said as he leaned down to kiss her  
  
"Never" Mary said throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him down with her.  
  
Mary and Wilson had been together for a little over a month. She refused to make it an official relationship. Mary was afraid of commitment, and understandably so. Wilson didn't mind so much, he had a feeling she would come around.  
  
Before either of them knew what was going on, their make out session moved from the couch to the bedroom. Hands were roaming, and clothing was being shed.  
  
Wilson paused the passionate moment and looked deep into Mary's eyes, "Mary, I love you," he whispered.  
  
Mary pushed Wilson off her, and grabbed her shirt off the floor. She put it on as she dashed for the door. When her hand grasped the door handle Wilson put his hand on her shoulder.  
  
Mary whipped around, angry tears forming in her eyes, "you're not allowed to say that"  
  
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Poor poor Mary, don't worry I'll straighten her out. Last chapter soon!  
  
I honestly don't know if I have the heart to finish this story. I'm just not feelin it. With my other stories it's been like, I don't know just different. Im not going to give up however, because a very smart girl told me that you wont like everything you write.  
  
Im gunna suck it up and finish, but only because I love you 


	13. the eyes they drown in tears

Here I sit, watching the little black line flash. I know exactly how I want to end this story; I just don't know how I'm going to get there. The stupid paper clip guy is staring at me like, "write something!" I keep trying to stab him with my cursor, but that only makes him give me pointless suggestions.  
  
Ok here goes....  
  
************************************************  
  
Mary whipped around, angry tears forming in her eyes, "you're not allowed to say that"  
  
"Say what?" Wilson said, trying to understand Mary's outburst  
  
"That you love me!" she cried  
  
Wilson reached behind her and shut the front door. "Why?"  
  
"Because I can't love you back!" Mary was almost screaming with tears pouring down her face  
  
Wilson put his hands on her shoulders and led her to the couch in attempt to calm her down. "Why not?" he was really hurt by what she was saying.  
  
"Love doesn't exist," she said bluntly  
  
Wilson had really had enough of Mary's crappy attitude since she left Carlos, he had plenty of built-up frustration and it all came out at once, "you know what I think? I think you aren't capable of loving someone"  
  
"Take that back" Mary looked at him angrily  
  
"How many times have you actually been 'in love' Mary?" Wilson said, angrily pacing around the living room  
  
Mary stood up defiantly, "once!"  
  
"With who? Ben?" he said sarcastically  
  
"No! Are you still upset about that?" Mary said getting up in his face, her eyes filled with tears again, "with you! You ok!"  
  
Wilson backed off, and sat on the couch trying to calm down as Mary explained herself.  
  
"Of all of the guys that I've tried to make myself believe I was in love with, none of them ever have made me feel like you did! Like you still do!" Mary paced around the room as she yelled and sobbed, "that's why I couldn't marry you!"  
  
"You couldn't marry me because you loved me?" Wilson shook his head, "that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."  
  
"I will never be good enough for you Wilson! Ever! You're like Mr. perfect and I'm the bad girl who got kicked out of her house, and went off and got married to a stranger!" Mary had to stop and compose herself before she spoke again, "I wanted to be with you, but you deserve better. Billy deserves better. The idea of being with you scared me so bad. I figured that someday someone better would come along and you would get rid of me." She sat down and continued to sob, "I was so scared, and now I'm even more scared, because I did get left behind for someone better. I don't want that to happen again Wilson."  
  
"It won't" Wilson said scooting next to her  
  
"How do you know that?" she asked him  
  
He looked into her eyes that were red from crying, "Because there is no one better" he threw his arms around her, and she clutched him tightly.  
  
Mary swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at Wilson with immense honesty, "I love you"  
  
*** THE END ***  
  
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Wow, if this story was on paper I would burn it. Ugh, I'm so disappointed. I hope you guys aren't as disappointed. I have the nicest readers ever, I realized that today. I added up all of my reviews, 112...not one single one of them is mean. Seriously you guys are the best!  
  
My next story will be better, I promise 


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